Amazon Easter Egg

February 21, 2002 7:34 AM

Amazon Easter Egg --Click on "Directory of All Stores" near the bottom, then scroll down to the copyright notice at the bottom. Under the "1996" is an invisible link which will take you to the farewell page for one of their employees.
posted by faceonmars (29 comments total)

Here's the easter egg page.
posted by waxpancake at 7:38 AM on February 21, 2002

... and check the source for a poem.
posted by prolific at 7:40 AM on February 21, 2002

Under the 6 in particular, if you can't figure out where to click. Did Bezos lose a bet or something?
posted by smackfu at 8:03 AM on February 21, 2002

Cool. Is there a website that lists website easter eggs? I know there's a few that list DVD and videogame easter eggs.

P.S. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the source code to see the poem
posted by insomnyuk at 8:07 AM on February 21, 2002

cool, he likes 10,000 maniacs! i've been listening to them a lot recently :)
posted by kliuless at 8:08 AM on February 21, 2002

This may sound daft(or insensitive), but, has David just moved on to other opportunities, or died?
posted by dreamling at 8:22 AM on February 21, 2002

Also, since every page must sell (and since I'm sure David would want it no other way), here's an opportunity to buy something! :)
heh
posted by sixtwenty3dc at 8:27 AM on February 21, 2002

"The well-earned stories you will have to tell your grandchildren will only get better ..."

Unless David had well-publicized plans to haunt his grandchildren, I think he's alive.
posted by maudlin at 8:29 AM on February 21, 2002

I just checked the code and didn't see any links after the 1996. Maybe they removed the link?
posted by mrbula at 8:29 AM on February 21, 2002

I just checked the code and didn't see any links after the 1996. Maybe they removed the link?

There doesn't seem to be anything in the source, either.
posted by iceberg273 at 8:34 AM on February 21, 2002

It's all still there. Homepage --> All Directories --> Scroll down to bottom, half an inch below the '6' in 1996 there's an invisible link.
posted by prolific at 8:39 AM on February 21, 2002

The link is still there iceberg, it's just hard to hit. How did you find this anyway, faceonmars?

I found the phrase "every page must sell" a neat glimpse into the philosophy behind Amazon's site design.
posted by holycola at 8:41 AM on February 21, 2002

Apparently the link's not going away. Jeff Bezos' notes says it will "reside on the Amazon website in perpetuity."
posted by popvulture at 8:51 AM on February 21, 2002

(Holycola sez) How did you find this anyway, faceonmars?

I should have mentioned at the outset that it was mentioned in an article in the paper version of today's Wall Street Journal. I don't have a subscription to the online version, or I would have posted it.

And David isn't dead; he's quitting.
posted by faceonmars at 8:59 AM on February 21, 2002

Also, since every page must sell (and since I'm sure David would want it no other way), here's an opportunity to buy something! :)

Oh, please. It's just another attempt at suckering in "web-savvy" users like us to look at yet another page full of links to buy stuff by making it seem like it's some cool hidden secret thing. If it's got Jeff Bezos's imprimatur on it and is lasting for "perpetuity", this was entirely planned out.
posted by briank at 8:59 AM on February 21, 2002

Who is David Risher?
posted by danec at 9:03 AM on February 21, 2002

David Risher is not dead, only moving on to other opportunities. He was a senior VP at Amazon - the only link to the announcement I can find is here (under the 'quote of the day').
posted by kokogiak at 9:05 AM on February 21, 2002

VP of Marketing and Merchandising thus 'every page must sell'.
posted by nedrichards at 9:30 AM on February 21, 2002

Cool. Is there a website that lists website easter eggs? I know there's a few that list DVD and videogame easter eggs.

You can try eeggs.com, which has a pretty extensive list of easter eggs of all variety.
posted by zempf at 9:40 AM on February 21, 2002

There doesn't seem to be anything in the source, either.

Last <p> tag, just before the </body> closer...
posted by syzygy at 9:51 AM on February 21, 2002

Just go to the bottom of the page and use your mouse to highlight whatever's down there. You'll see a small block of text that gets highlighted that shouldn't be there.
posted by tsumo at 10:33 AM on February 21, 2002

Thanks for the link. My husband showed me an Easter egg, a race car game, in Excel and I've been amazed ever since. Here are a couple other good dvd egg sites.
posted by sadie01221975 at 10:37 AM on February 21, 2002

Ah. I was on the wrong page. Ooops.
posted by iceberg273 at 11:12 AM on February 21, 2002

What is wrong with attending to the "web-savvy"? Hmmm?
posted by websavvy at 11:20 AM on February 21, 2002

Sail forth--steer for the deep waters only,
Reckless O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me,
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.
posted by whoshotwho at 11:29 AM on February 21, 2002

to find the link easier, highlight from 1996 down, you will see where to click then.
posted by RunsWithBandageScissors at 12:32 PM on February 21, 2002

Oh, please. It's just another attempt at suckering in "web-savvy" users like us to look at yet another page full of links to buy stuff by making it seem like it's some cool hidden secret thing.

Or maybe it is just a sweet goodbye gift to Dave. *cynical stares from everyone* What? *sighs and creeps off*
posted by hugsnkisses at 12:37 PM on February 21, 2002

I think it's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time.
posted by Optamystic at 6:15 PM on February 21, 2002

I'm suspicious. How many cool employees must they have had? How can they possibly choose the ONE who gets a permanent easter egg on the site? This dude must have been butt boy to Bezos, I swear.
posted by scarabic at 8:17 PM on February 21, 2002